Improvement in toy skating-rinks



No.19 1,09Z.

S. E. BACHMANN. TOY SKATING RINKS.

Patented May 22, 18721 ILFETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, ,D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT @rrroa.

SOPHIE E. BAGHMANN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN TOY SKATlNG-RlNK S.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 191,092, dated May 22,1877; application filer January 2, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SOPHIE E. BACHMANN, of the city of New York, in thecounty of New York, and the State of New York, have invented a certainnew and useful Toy Skating- Riuk; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full and exact description thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawing, and to the letters of reference markedthereon.

The invention relates to a toy skating-rink, consisting of a box havingits top formed of paper or other thin material, representing ice, onwhich diminutive figures representing skaters, and weighted by means ofiron shoes, are moved about by the attraction of a magnet held in thehand and applied beneath the paper. I

A rectangular box of suitable material, provided with a lid, a portionof which being removed, is covered with a lamina or plate of mica,(isinglass,) a sheet of silk, or other suit.- able material.Tissue-paper is pasted or glued over this lamina to approach more n arlythe appearance of ice. Small figures or puppets are provided with feetof iron of sufficient weight to cause them to retain an uprightposition. These represent the skaters. ln the rear portion of therectangular box is an aperture, through which the hand of the exhibitormay pass. A small bar or horseshoe magnet held in the hand, and passedto and fro across the under surface of the ice, immediately beneath anydesired figure, causes the figure upon the ice to move about at the willof the exhibitor.

The advantages of this form of toy over the greater number ofcontrivances known as mechanical toys are obvious. In the skating-rinkthe motions of the skating figures may be infinitely varied, while inthe former there is a fixed unvarying motion, of which a child soontires. New figures may, from time to time, be added or substituted, and,by this means, provide a continually varied, and, consequently, muchmore lasting amusement.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a front elevation, with part insection; and Fig. 2, a plan of my toy skating-rink.

The rink is formed by covering an open box, A, with thin paper P, or anyother suitable material to represent ice, and providing a door,hand-hole, or opening, F, through which to insert the hand for thepurpose of applying a horseshoe-magnet, M, to the under side of thepaper, as shown in Fig. l, to cause the desired movement of the figures0. A railing, R, having an ornamental arch, H,

is applied around the edge of the ice-field P,

and a border, X, of different color or material from the paper, may beemployed, as shown in Fig. 2. The figures O are weighted, and also shodwith blocks of iron at, or other metal susceptible of magneticattraction, and are thus adapted to maintain an erect posit-ion. Whenthe magnet M is applied with itspoles in close proximity to the undersurface of tie paper or ice field P, and moved about in variousdirections, according to the will of the operator, the attractionbetween it and the iron feet a of the figures under which it passescauses the latter to slide over the surface in directions correspondingto the movements of the magnet, and thus imitate the gliding movementsof skaters.

What I claim is- A toy skating-rink consisting of a box or frame, A,having a paper top or cover, P, and provided with a side opening orhand-hole,

for insertion and application of the magnet v to cause the glidingmovements of the figures, as shown and described.

SOPHIE E. BAOHMANN. Witnesses:

G. BARRY WALL, W. H. GREEN.

